Sole for boots and shoes.



OSGAR C,- DAVIS, OF BROGKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SOLE FOR BOOTSZAND SHOES.

Specfication of Letters Patent.

Patented March 31, 1908.

Application filed. December 29, 1906. Serial Ne. !549,971.

To all whom it may concmm:

Be it known that I, OSCAE C, DAvIs, of Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain -new and useful Improvements in Soles for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

Ths invention relates chiefly to inner soles for boots and shoes, and may be embodied in an inner sole for either a welted or a McKay sewed shoe. x

The invention is intended chiefly to pro- Vide an inner sole which, while reasonably strong, durable 'and efiicient as such, is ca'pab'le of being manufactured at less eX- penso than a sole conposed wholly or in part of leather:

Inner soles for welted shoes are now often made of a body portion or layer of leather, and a rein'forcing member or members of canvas or other material applied to the body portion in' such manner as to engage the inseam stitches that attach the inner sole to the upper ,and welt.

My nvention when embodied in a reintorced inner sole, relatesto the said body portion, and consists in a sole or sole-shaped body composed of sheet fibrous material,

the fibers of which are not interwoven, and

are preferably wool or other so-ealled felting fih'ers artificially bonded after the usual manner of forming the material known as felt, the said body being adapted to receive attaching stitches. In inner soles for welt shoes this adaptation is efiected by forming a channel, or dividing the nargin of the sole i into a lip and a feather, the lip being turned I from one side of the sole to receive the in'- i seam stitches.

The fibers composing the stitch-en'gaging portion of the body, are additionally bonded and stiflened by means of any suitable bonding and stifi ening material, preferably a solution of shellac or other suitable gum, although any other suitable 1naterial may be employed for this purpose, the' object being to increase the tensile strength of the fibers by permanently increasing the bond of union between them, and to stiflt'en the material so that, like leather, it is adapted to be readly acted on bychanneling and other tools used in the manufacture of soles, the stifiening also enabling the above-mentioned lip to retain the form imparted to it, and also enabling the sole to Withstand, without yielding or buckling, the pressure ex erted on it by a sole leveling machine.

The invention may be embodied in an inner sole for a welt shoe which is composed wholly of felt without reinforcement, and it may also be embodied in a felt inner sole for McKay work with or without reinfor'cement.

The nvention may also be embodied in an inner sole or an inner sole body eomposed of non-feltng pa er-making fibers united to forn a relative y thick sheet, and addition= ally united by a bonding and stiffening Inaterial.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,-Figure 1 represents a plan view of a sole body which may be a blank for a welt inner sole, or a complete McKay inner sole, composed of non-intel woven fibers artificially bonded by the process of assembling the fibers, and addtionbody of the inner sole being impregnated with a bonding and stiffening material or composition. Fig. 3 represents a view similar to Fig. 2, showing only the marginal portion of the sole trcated with a bonding and stiffening material or composition. Figs 4, 5 and 6 represent sectional views showing means for reinforcing the felt body. Fig; 7 represents a sectional view of a McKay inner soe.

. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out my nvention whenfelt is used as the material, I form from a sheet of' ordinary felt, a sole-shaped body a. When thebody a is used for the inner sole of a welt shoe, its margin is channeled to form a lip 2 and a feather 3, the lip being adapted to receive the usual inseam stitches that connect the inner sole with the up er and welt. When the body a is intended or use as the' inner sole of a McKay sewed sho'e, it is not necessarily channeled, the stitches lying on one side of the sole. e

The felted fibers forming the stitch-engaging portions of the body a, are', in accordance with my invention, treated with a bondin'g and stifiiening 'material which impregnates the said portions, and is of such nature that wkm d 'd it. ill 36% the fbetms *lb which i'u): A Suitabte materal for this purpose is a solution of shellac or other suitable gum, although any other sutable bonding and stifiening material may be employed. The additional bond of union thus afiorded between the fibers of the portion of the sole which engage the stitches, strengthens the said portion, and enables it to more effectively support the stitches, and prevent them from pulling through the material of the body a. Another advantage resulting from the described treatment, is the stiffening of the material so that the lip 2 when bent from the side of the sole will retain the shape imparted to it, the lip being bent while the bonding material is in a soft condition or before it is hardened by dryng.

In Fgs. 4, 5 and 6 I show reinforcing members applied to the sole, Figs. 4 and 5 showing a reinforcing member composed of a layer 6 of canvas or other suitable material covering one side of the sole and feather, and coverng both sides of the lip 2. In Big. 5 I show in addition to the layer 6 a reinforcing cord orvstrip 7 applied to the inner side of the lip 2, and covered by the layer 6. In Fig. 6 I show a reinforcing layer 8 applied to the outerside of the body a. The bonding and stifiening material employed may perneate the entire body a. In Figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6 the I heavy section lines are intended to represent without yieldin the extent to which the said material penetrates the felt body. In Figs. 3 and 7 the heavy section lines at the marginal portions of the body a, are intended to represent the extent of penetration of the bonding and stifiening material, the lg'hter section lines indicating the central region of the body a which is not stiifened, this region being left with its fibers bonded only by the original felting operation so that it possesses substantially the inherent elasticity of the felt, and constitutes a cushion for the foot. The said central region may however be partially stiffened suficiently to enable it to withstand, or buckling, the pressure imparted by a so e leveling machine, without being deprved of all its inherent elasticity.

When the entire body a is permeated by the bonding and stiffening material, the stifi'- ness tlus imparted to it not only enables the body to withstand, without yielding or buckling, the p'ressure imparted by a sole-levelin machine, but also enables it to be channed when the bonding material is dry and hard, and further enables the surfaces of the body to be scoured by a sand paper roll, and thusbuffed or finished to resemble leather, the body being colored, if desired, in imitation of leather. V

When a welt inner sole constructed in accordance with my invention is channeled while the bonding material is dry and hard, the lip may be softened by a solvent of the bonding material before it is bent, the lip be ing bent While in a limp condition, and caused to retain. its bent form by the subsequent hardenn of the bonding material.

l find that fe t treated as described is an effective substitute for leather for inner soles, and s much less expensive. I am, therefore, enabled to furnish a durable and desirable inner sole at a cost considerably less 'than that of an inner sole composed wholly or in part of leather.

My invention may be embodied in a sole made from a thick sheet of paper the fibers of which are assembled as in blotting and otherkinds of paper, the sheet being of suitable thickness for an entire sole, or for the body portion of a reinforced sole. The bondng and stiffening material permeating the st1tch-engaging portions of the sole or the entire bod of the sole has the same efect as in a fe t sole.

The fibrous sheet material employed by me, whether the same be felt or paper, :is com osed of a fibrous sheet, the fibers of whlc are not interwoven, and are artifi- ,cially bonded or united by the ordinary felting process, when felt is employed, and by the ordinary paper-making process, when paper s enployed. It is thus distinguished from leather, the fibers of-which are naturally united, and from textile fabric, the fibers of which are interwoven. The said fibro'us: sheet material is much cheaper than leather and teXtile fabric, and when stiffened as described has the advantage over textle fabric of being adapted to be channeled, buffed and otherwise treated in the same way that leather is treated in the manufacture of soles. It provides a very acceptable substitute for leather in the manufacture of inner soles. i

The stiffening material employed is preferably waterproof, that is to say, t is not soluble in water at a relatively low temperature, such as that of water on pavements, high- Ways, etc'. resulting from rain, or from melting snow. The effectiveness of the stifiening material as a means of sup orting the stitches and preventing them rom 'pulling through the material of the body a is not theref'ore liable to be decreased by water which is ordinarily encountered by a boot ol: sho e. Shellac, thestiffening material above; s ecified, has this water proof quality, alt ough, as hereinbefore stated, any other suitable bonding and stiffenng materialmay be employed. When the invention is embodied in a channeled sole, the lip formed by the channel may be softened by any suitable solvent of the water proof bonding and stiflening material, such as alcohol.

By the term inner sole as used in the claims I mean to designate either an inner sole composed entirely of fibrous material, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 7, or a sole-shaped l &83,299

body made of fihrous material, and rein- In testmony Whereo'f I have &flxed my forIced as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. signature, in presence of two witnesses.

. claim: i A sole composed of a sheet of fibrous mate- OSCAR DAVIS' 5, rial created With a water-pro'of bonding and VVtnesses:

stifening material and channeled and having C. F. BROWN,

an upwardly bent permanently stffened lip. E. BATCHELDER. 

